100 Scariest Movie Moments: #99 Creepshow

There are certain ideas that seem to be recycled every so often, which everyone is expected to treat as if they're incredibly original. I don't simply mean “comic book movies.” I mean things as specific as “a tribute to EC Comics horror stories." Just to name the movies I know of that used this formula: Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt (3 or 4 films, depending on how you count them, and two TV shows), Creepshow (3 films, two with the original creators), Tales from the Dark Side: The Movie (the unofficial Creepshow 3), and Trick 'R Treat. Sadly, in my view, the best by far is Trick 'R Treat, which is also among the least known. But, I wanted to start this writing by highlighting the fact that the gimmick of Creepshow has been done many times. Even removing the films that came after Creepshow from the list, it was still the third. (The original Tales form the Crypt, and The Vault of Horror movies were made roughly a decade earlier). Creepshow, however takes the tribute more literally than most, showing actual panels and coloring backgrounds to display emotions at key moments.

Moving on from the issue of originality to the issue of quality, I have mixed feelings. The movie is set as a frame-story and I'm uncertain how much to discuss in terms of plot. A little boy (Joe King) gets his comic taken away by his abusive father (Tom Atkins), who throws it in the trash. At the end, the boy kills his father with a Voodoo Doll that he ordered from the comic. What happens in between is a bit unclear, but best as I can understand a witch is letting the little boy experience the stories directly, since he didn't get the read them. (Just go with it. If I try to explain what's happening then I'll never talk about anything else in this review).

As with the original comic series, the stories tend to act as cautionary tales about the evils of patricide, revenge, racism, and so forth. The tones of the stories also vary on the scale of comedy and horror, with Stephen King personally starring in the most comedic as a hillbilly turned into a plant by a meteor. However, pretty much all the stories have an element of camp to them.

This movie was placed on the list primarily because of one story, “They're Creeping Up On You,” which is the unquestionably the most serious in the film. The humor is derived solely from the eccentricities and prejudices of Upson Pratt (E.G. Marshall); the racist, germophobic executive, and the main character of the story. This was selected as the “movie moment” to highlight for good reason. It's the only story that I regard as truly disturbing.

The story is a metaphor for the way Pratt sees other humans. He lives in a “bug-proof, germ-proof apartment,” struggling to protect himself from vermin, both of the two-legged and six-legged variety. He mocks a rival executive whose company he was taking over, and he openly insults the black maintenance worker who was sent to help him deal with his bug problem. All the while he goes around his apartment killing cockroaches that have somehow continued to get in. Naturally, the roaches become more and more numerous, until the entire apartment is eventually flooded, killing him.

This movie, for the most part, is just gory fun. Most of the segments are enjoyable if you don't take them too seriously. And yeah, if you're a horror fan, you should see it.